Review: Fifty Shades of Grey Hard Limits Restraint Kit

Shipping and Packaging

Shipping from Lovehoney is always fast and discreet. Once my order was processed, it only took six days to ship out of the UK and arrive at my doorstep here in Canada. Lovehoney makes sure that their packages are subtle and innocent, so there was no hint of the package’s contents or where they came from.

Box appearance

In the box

Satin pouch fits everything

This restraint kit comes in a large, flat box, labeled with their standard Fifty Shades of Grey look. Inside the box, you receive an information booklet, a large black satin pouch, and the kit items: (1) a blindfold; (2) wrist cuffs; (3) ankle cuffs; and (4) the harness.

Physical Details

This polyester set gives you a sleek, sturdy, and comfortable restraint system. The straps are designed to restrain someone to a furniture item (ie, a bed or a chair), but can also be used to hogtie your partner. Fun!

Blindfold: The blindfold is a sleek, soft, and plushy item. It’s really comfortable. It’s kind of like a pillow for your eyeballs, with 1 cm of soft padding. It has a silver satin exterior, but the back lining is black and fairly fuzzy/furry. Two elastic bands extend from the sides to wrap around your head. This blindfold offers a complete black-out experience (given that your nose bridge isn’t so high that it pushes the blindfold up).

Blindfold

Soft underside of the blindfold

Wrist and Ankle Cuffs: The wrist and ankle cuffs are identical in appearance, asides from size. The black inner lining (that comes into contact with your skin) is soft and fuzzy, like the blindfold. On the silver exterior, a black strip of velcro runs up the cuff, giving it some extra reinforcement. A solid metal buckle branches out from the center, and this fastener connects to the rings on the main restraint harness.

Quality of buckles

Soft underside of ankle and wrist cuffs

Cuffs hook onto rings on the restraint harness

The wrist cuffs are about 20% shorter than the ankle cuffs, and I can’t imagine these cuffs not fitting anyone. Because the cuffs are tied together with velcro, you can adjust the size to find the best fit for you. This means that, no matter how puny or giant your wrists or ankles are, you’ll have a perfect fit.

Ankle cuffs

Wrist cuffs and lipstick case for scale – left is smallest cuff can be, right is largest it can be

Ankle cuffs and lipstick case for scale – left is smallest cuff can be, right is largest it can be

Harness: The harness is what really makes this a neat restraint system. It consists of a bunch of adjustable 5-ft strapping that can be wrapped around furniture (beds, chairs, doors, etc). In the center is a large O-ring that can be opened to release the straps. This O-ring connects to the 4 straps (each which attaches to cuffs at the end). Each strap can be pulled short so that the cuffs are right at the O-ring. Alternatively, you can stretch out the straps so the cuffs are 5 feet away from the center O-ring. In other words? This is good for a good variety of furniture, large and small.

The straps themselves are very sturdy. While they may not hold up to a tow-truck, they’ll definitely keep you or your partner in place. Initially, I was less certain about the plastic attachments at the end of each strap. These plastic parts allow the strap to adjust in size, but they also connect the straps to the small O-rings at the end of each strap (which connects to the cuffs). While not overly flimsy, I worried they would break if I applied all my strength to pulling them apart. So, of course, I tried to pull them apart, then got my partner to try to pull them apart, but they stayed secure.

Restraint harness for furniture

Openable harness

My Experience

To be honest, I don’t have a huge amount of experience with restraint systems. I’ve only had one before, but the cuffs were so uncomfortable that I stopped using it. So, I speak really as restraint-novice.

I had a lot of fun tying up my partner (and getting tied up other times). I primarily use this as a bed restraint system: the large O-ring is placed under my mattress, the straps come across the sides of the bed, and they clip to my wrist and handcuffs. When in this position, the restraints feel very secure, and don’t let me accidentally (or purposefully) escape. I’ve tried wiggling out of the cuffs but, because they’re adjustable, they fit me too well to let me escape. I can’t pull my arms or kick my legs strong enough to break any of the buckles. Lastly, I’ve tried to manipulate the silver buckle on the cuffs to free my wrist. I can’t manage this, but my partner later could, so it is possible if you know what you’re doing.

Ways to use

How to use

I really like how versatile this set is is. Those adjustable straps let you turn your ordinary furniture into a playground, which is remarkably convenient. As far as restraint sets go, I think this was was a pretty perfect fit for my needs. Plus, this set is reeeeaaaally comfortable. My wrists and ankles feel like they’re snug in a pair of wrist and ankle warmers. The fuzzy underside of the cuffs make these very cozy. If you want to be in agony from your restraints, look elsewhere.

However, that blindfold may have pillowy softness across your eyes, but those thin elastic bands are rather tight. As far as heads go, mine is fairly medium-sized, and my scalp above my ears started to ache where the bands touched me. I would have liked it if the two thin elastic bands was instead just 1 thick band with some sort of size-adjustability to it.

Originally, I broke the large central O-ring when I used it to be hogtied. After I posted my review, Lovehoney noted that I’d probably been sent a faulty kit. So, when my new kit arrived, I spent a few weeks testing its strength and using it to tie hogties to see if the second kit would break as well. This second kit hasn’t broken, so I think Lovehoney was right in that I was sent a faulty item. If you notice that your harness has any issues like this, contact Lovehoney for a replacement because they have a wicked 1-year happiness guaranteed policy.

That being said, I wouldn’t trust the O-ring to hang me from the ceiling or anything, as the central O-ring can be bent slightly out of shape with just your hands (or in my case, my partner’s strong arms). In other words, it’s durable enough to restrain you to furniture, but I wouldn’t suspend myself in the air and hang all my body weight from it. But it isn’t meant for that anyhow.

Overall

I think this makes for a decent restraint set due to its ease-of-use, comfort, and versatility. Though I originally had some issues with a faulty harness kit, I’ve continued to enjoy my replacement set and I’m happy with it. If you’re looking to get your foot in bondage, but don’t know where to start or don’t want to spend gazillions buying individual pieces from different stores…or you’re just looking to replace your current set, I can recommend buying this kit. It’s easy to use, it’s comfortable, and it even packs up snugly in its own little pouch.

Lastly, please remember that, before starting any restraint-play, be sure to have open communication to establish firm boundaries and a safe word.